given, and many hints of a practical nature suggest that "Spanish Ways and By-Ways" might very well serve the purpose of a handbook for the traveller in that romantic country.

SCANDINAVIA.-This is a monthly journal started last November as an organ through which men of Northern Europe can address the civilized world. It will contain a series of articles on Scandinavian history, mythology, literature, religion, science, art, etc. It will give English translations of the masterpieces of Scandinavian literature in prose and verse, contributions to the history of the Scandinavian settlement of America, and signed articles by the most prominent men of Northern Europe. There is a growing interest in Northern literature and languages, particularly in England, where the Danes have left their impress even on the name of the country. Scandinavia should therefore find support in Great Britain, and we heartily wish it success. It is published at Chicago, Illinois, and Trübner & Co., London, are the Agents for Europe. Subscription 8s. per annum, post free. All communications for the Editor of Scandinavia should be addressed. Ed. of Scandinavia, 26, North Clark Street, Chicago, Ill., U.S.A.

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SHAKESPEARIANA-The first five numbers have appeared of a magazinej under this title published by the Leonard Scott Publishing Company, New York, and by Trübner and Co., Ludgate Hill, London. It seems remarkable that Shakespeare's admirers in the New World should have thought the time had come when a journal expressly devoted to his lore would have a chance of success, but so it is, and the American Shakespearians are determined if possible that it shall succeed, though up to the present the English Shakespearians have not supported it so well as we think it merits. The following is the programme which it proposes to follow; and its price (7s. 6d. per annum) brings it within the reach of all admirers of the Bard of Avon Shakespeariana is a monthly magazine, to be devoted exclusively to Shakespearian literature. It is designed to furnish a recognized medium for the interchange of ideas among Shakespearian scholars, and to afford the student the fullest information relative to Shakespeare's art, life, and works. The most diversified themes will be treated in its pages by eminent Shakespearian scholars, and will be supplemented by editorials upon the latest aspects of contemporary Shakespearian thought. The following special features will also be introduced:-1. A Society Column, containing accurate information of the transactions of Shakespearian societies, their methods of study, personnel, conclusions on textual cruces, etc., etc. 2. A Dramatic Column, giving through special correspondents the latest news of Shakespearian revivals, and furnishing criticisms on past and present histrionic interpretation of the plays, with notes on costume, scenic arrangements, etc. 3. A Notes and Queries Column, in which textual emendations may be suggested and discussed, and the student gain the information necessary to a proper understanding of Shakespeare. 4. A Review Column, containing criticisms upon the more important of recent Shakespearian publications, with a monthly résumé of all current literature concerning the poet, and also presenting faithful translations of the more valuable products of the German, French, and Italian schools of criticism. Through these departments, all of which will be conducted by competent scholars, Shakespeariana will speak not alone to the specialist in Shakespearian criticism, but to the actor and dramatist, and to the student of general literature, history, and philology.

HOW TO GET ON IN THE WORLD.-Mr. Robert Waters, of the Hoboken (New Jersey) Academy, has, under this title, published a work on William Cobbett, to which he has added Cobbett's English Grammar. The object of Mr. Waters's book is to show what Cobbett was as a writer and a man. The life of William Cobbet is a profitable theme for any young man to study; the Times called him "the last of the Saxons," and the Saturday Review "the most English of Englishmen.' Mr. Waters has been from his early youth an admirer of Cobbett, and he does justice to the memory of a man who, whatever may have been his faults, in his use of the English language and as a representative of true English character, never had a compeer. Mr. Waters's valuable contribution to Cobbettiana is published by Trübner and Co. in London.

THE HAWAIIAN ALMANAC.-Mr. T. G. Thrum of Honolulu sends us the Hawaiian Almanac for 1884. What would the great navigator, Captain Cook, say, if he could return to the islands where he perished, and see them with a king, a constitutional government, and an almanac and annual in its tenth year of publication? We notice that the "Reciprocity Treaty" between the Hawaiian Islands and the United

States is so arranged that the islands enjoy almost as much benefit as if they formed a portion of the United States, without having to bear a portion of the heavy taxation of the latter.

THE UNITED STATES NAVAL INSTITUTE.-The growth of the Naval Institute during the past two years is truly remarkable. It shows that there is very great interest among the officers in the technical subjects which belong to their profession. The circulation of the Proceedings has nearly doubled, and will soon reach a thousand copies. The increase during the past year is 207, 100 of which is due to the subscription of the War Department. The members will doubtless be interested in the following table of figures on this subject:

There is no outstanding indebtedness.

The annnal meeting of the U.S. Naval Institute for the election of officers was held in the board house at Annapolis on Thursday, January 10. A paper on naval tactics was read by Lieutenant Commander H. Elmer, U.S. Navy. The following officers were elected for 1884-President, Rear Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins; vice president, Captain F. M. Ramsay; secretary, Lieutenant Commander Charles M. Thomas; treasurer, Lieutenant J. B. Briggs; corresponding secretary, Passed Assistant Engineer J. K. Barton; printing committee, Lieutenant Commander J. E. Craig, Lieutenant W. T. Burwell, Passed Assistant Surgeon D. N. Bertolette.

The essays offered in competition for the Naval Institute's prize of 1884 have been forwarded to the judges, whose decisions may be looked for shortly. We understand that some very able papers have been contributed on the interesting topic prescribed, which is "The best method for the reconstruction and increase of the U.S. Navy." The judges are Rear-Admiral C. R. P. Rodgers, U.S. Navy; Hon. J. R. Hawley, U.S. Senate; D. C. Gilman, LL.D., president of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.

Lieutenants Meigs and Ingersoll, of the Navy, have accomplished an arduous work in the translation from the French of M. E. Sarrau's "Researches on the Effects of Powder," which occupies the entire space in the last number of the "Proceedings of the Naval Institute." It is a purely scientific study, which offers very little material for a brief paragraph. Students of gunnery will find in it much that is new and instructive, and will be under obligations to the editors of the Proceedings" in furnishing a careful English translation of such a valuable work.

CATALOGUE OF THE LIBRARY OF THE SURGEON-GENERAL'S OFFICE OF THE U.S.A.-Dr. J. S. Billings has just issued the fourth volume of this magnificent catalogue; it contains 4802 titles, 1926 volumes, 3885 pamphlets, 12,361 book-titles, and 48,977 journal articles. The catalogue, as far as published, contains 35,431 titles, 24,967 volumes, 27,479 pamphlets, 41,483 book titles, 149,737 journal articles and

4335 portraits. As a friend of ours remarked, the next best thing to having the books themselves is to possess this elaborate catalogue of them. We are pleased to be able to announce that a limited number of the volumes are printed for sale at a price a small percentage over the actual cost of production.

AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. The American Geographical Society have issued their Bulletin Nos. 3 and 4 for 1883. Mr. Horatio Allen's" Remarks on the Sun, Planet, and Star Instrument," will be read with interest by all students of astronomy, as they will find the instrument a great help to them in prosecuting their studies. Dr. J. C. Rosse's "First Landing on Wrangel Island, with some Remarks on the Northern Inhabitants," is an episode of the "Cruise of the Corwin." General G. W. Cullum's "Valley of the Loire and its Historic Chateau" is a noteworthy contribution to European archæology, General B. Alvord's" Winter Grazing in the Rocky Mountains" shows that 3000 feet above the level of the sea all domestic cattle will find ample winter food in the summer-cured grasses of that region, and the loss on rearing them is not over five per cent.

THE NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA.-The Report of the Proceedings of this Society for 1883, submitted by Henry Phillips, jun., Esq., Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer, contains a communication from Dr. Macedo of Lima, on "The Antiquities of Peru under the Incas," and a comparison between their civilization and that of the Aztecs of Mexico. Dr. Brinton referred to the work done by the U. S. Bureau of Ethnology in sign-reading, through the means of which the "Rock Inscriptions" can be read. Mr. Hale read a paper on Migrations of American Indians as evidenced by Language.' The report contains several other interesting items.

THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN.—The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal, edited by the Rev. Stephen D. Peet, of Clinton, Wisconsin, is now in its sixth volume, and has commenced publishing as a Bi-Monthly instead of a Quarterly as formerly. This magazine is the only one devoted to American Archæology, Ethnology, Philology, and Oriental matters, and has for contributors some of the best American authorities on these subjects. It embraces eight different departments, each edited by specialists, and is now well established. Subscribers are solicited in Great Britain, the Continent of Europe, and the Colonies, and Messrs. Trübner and Co. act as agents for the proprietor, and receive subscriptions on this side the Atlantic.

SOUTH CAROLINA.-We are indebted to the State Board of Agriculture of South Carolina (Governor Hugh S. Thompson, Chairman, A. P. Butler, Commissioner) for a very valuable volume on the Resources, Population, Institutions, and Industries of the State of South Carolina. Mr. Harry Hammond, who edits the book, has prepared maps to accompany it, giving the physical and geographical features of the State in accordance with the details of the tenth census. The information contained in this volume of 726 pages forms a very perfect monograph on this favoured Southern State, and may be safely recommended to capitalists and others interested in its prosperity.

THE BOOK MART.-From Pittsburgh, Pa., in the heart of the American mining district, "The Book Mart" reaches us. This is a periodical devoted to literary and library intelligence, and to the individual interests of the public in the purchase, exchange, or sale of books, old, fine, scarce, and out-of-the-way, both American and Foreign. The Book Mart, which has reached its eleventh Number, dated March of this year, is conducted with considerable intelligence; but we are afraid its place of publication is, like some of the books to which its services are devoted, viz. rather "out-of the-way."

THE AMERICAN CATALOGUE-The supplement to this Catalogue, bringing it down to the end of 1883, by Mr. F. Leypoldt of New York, is announced, and it is expected it will be ready for issue shortly. Subscribers should send in their names to the publisher, or to Messrs. Trübner & Co., the agents for Europe, as early as possible, so as to prevent unnecessary delay in the delivery of the same. A few copies are still on sale of the original catalogue at £8 8s., but this price will doubtless soon have to be raised, as those remaining are being gradually taken up. It must be borne in mind that the matter in this Catalogue will never be reproduced in its present form, only supplements to it will be published every five years.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF VICTORIA. - The second decade has just been issued of the Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller's "Observations on the New Vegetable Fossils of the Auriferous Drifts." This report contains 12 lithographic illustrations of the plants and fruits of pre-historic ages, most interesting to the student of paleontology.

REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY.From the report of the Hon. John Jay Knox, the controller of the currency, for 1883, we find that 262 banks have been organized during the year ending Nov. 1, 1883, which is the largest number in any year since 1865. Out of these 132 have been established in the Western States, and 26 in the Territories. Any one who wishes to know the working of the banking system of the United States cannot do better than peruse the "Address" of the Hon. John Jay Knox on "the Continuance of the National Banking System," delivered at the Annual Convention of the American Bankers' Association at Louisville, Kentucky, October 10, 1883, and published by the Bankers' Publishing Association of New York.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.-The following Reports have been issued by the "Division of Statistics," New Series, Numbers 1 to 5, on "Yield of Crops per Acre," "Crops of the Year of Cereal Production in Europe,' ""Number and Value of Farm Animals and Farm Labour," "Distribution and Consumption of Corn and Wheat."

THE TEXAS COURIER RECORD OF MEDICINE.-This is a medical periodical, which commenced publishing in September, 1883, at Fort Worth, Texas. It is edited by Drs. F. E. Daniel and W. B. Brooks. The former filled a distinguished rôle in the surgical department of the Confederate Army. The South-West is a large field, and should be able to support a medical periodical, and the one started by Drs. Daniel and Brooks we think will be found worthy of it, if we may judge by the articles which have already appeared. We see the editors are advocating the establishment of a medical college in Texas, and we should think there is room for it in the "Lone Star State," which is said to possess four thousand practitioners.

BUREAU OF EDUCATION, U.S.A.-The Report of General Eaton, the Hon. Commissioner of Education in the U.S.A. for 1881, has reached us. It comes rather late, not having passed through the Washington Government Printing Office until 1883; but the Commissioner points out in his opening paragraph the difficulty of collecting the materials in which about 8000 people are engaged; then the still greater difficulty of digesting it, especially as the department has not sufficient clerical force to do its work so expeditiously as it should be done. In this Report the Commissioner has availed himself of the information collected by the Census Department, which adds greatly to the usefulness of the Report. From the statistics of the Census, General Eaton concludes that the U.S. in size and population is the fourth nation in the world, and probably more than half the English-speaking people of the earth live in the United States. Table 24 is a useful feature we have not noticed in this Report before,-it contains a list of the School publications issued during 1881, consisting of 35 pages.

THE SANITARIAN.-Dr. A. N. Bell has this year commenced publishing the Sanitarian again as a Monthly periodical, after publishing it for one year as a Weekly one. The address of the Office is still 113, Fulton Street, New York.

THE PLATONIST.-Mr. Thomas M. Johnson commenced publishing Volume II. of the Platonist, January, this year, after its suspension for some time. The editor is still to be found at Osceola, St. Clair County, Missouri, though the periodical is issued by the Press of the "Orange Chronicle," Orange, New Jersey.

VIRGIL.-An addition has been made to the literature of Virgil by Mr. John Augustine Wilstach, Counsellor-at-Law, who has published with Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., of Boston, Mass., and the Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., "The Works of Virgil," translated into English verse, with variorum and other notes and comparative readings, in two volumes crown octavo. To be a good translator it is necessary to have an admiration for and enter into the spirit of the original, and this Mr. Wilstach has evidently done, and made a scholarly translation which lovers of the poet will welcome as a fresh tribute to the genius of the great bard of ancient Rome. Not only is this edition admirable on the merits of its rendering of the original into flowing English blank verse, but also for the introduction, which Mr. Wilstach entitles the "Virgilians." In this chapter, or section, the translator enumerates the various manuscripts of the poet extant, gives notices of the commentators, editors and translators who have written on Virgil, and also his imitators. This edition might be called the Variorum English Edition of Virgil, because the translator, being determined to do full justice to the poet, and make as perfect and idiomatic a translation as possible, acknowledges that in obscure passages he has consulted all previous translators, so that, even if a charge of plagiarism is brought against him, he does not care, so long as his favourite poet does not suffer by being badly expounded.

BIOGEN. Under this title, derived from the word biology, "the science of life," Prof. Elliott Coues has published with Estes & Lauriat, of Boston, a second edition of "Biogen: A Speculation on the Origin and Nature of Life," abridged from a paper on the possibilities of protoplasm read before the Philosophical Society of Washington, May 6th, 1882. It has never been satisfactorily scientifically demonstrated what life is, and the author says, "No chemico-physical theory of life is tenable which does not satisfactorily explain the difference between, for example, a live amoeba and a dead one; an explanation which has never yet been and probably cannot be given." To all those who study the phenomena of life, this little book will afford suggestive thought study, although it does not solve the great problem, What is Life? The author at the end of " Biogen asks four questions which "force and matter" theorists have never been able to

answer.

LIBRARY MATTERS.-Under the title of "Remarks on Library Construction," Mr. W. F. Poole, Librarian of the Chicago Public Library, has published with Messrs. Jansen, McClurg, & Co., his paper read at Buffalo, August 5th, 1883. The construction of a convenient library inside does not harmonize with the ideas of architects as to what the outside should be. There were no large libraries in the days of early Gothic architecture, and the well-being of the books and the convenience of the readers should certainly not be sacrificed to certain aesthetic ideas. Mr. Poole, at the end of his pamphlet, makes an examination of Mr. J. L. Smithmeyer's pamphlet, entitled, "Suggestions on Library Architecture," and clearly shows that that gentleman, however good an architect he may be, knows nothing about the internal requirements of a library. A library built on his plan would be an excellent crematory furnace for the books it contained.-The Bulletin of the Boston Public Library, Nos. 66 and 67, are before us; the former contains part 4 of the Franklin bibliograhy and a continuation of the bibliography on American local history; the latter contains a bibliography of the texts and translations of the Eddas, the same of Matthew Arnold's books and articles by him and on him, and another instalment of the books on American local history. These bibliographies are exceedingly useful, and cannot be too highly commended. The Trustees of the Boston Public Library have also issued a new edition of their Handbook for Readers," which contains some very valuable information on technical books which it would be difficult to find elsewhere.-"The Bulletin of the Library Company of Philadelphia," for January, 1884, contains the additions to the Library, since July, 1883, all classified.-The Thirty-fifth Annual Report of the Trustees of the Astor Library, January, 1884, shows the total number of volumes in the library, 208,429; the year's statistics shows an increase of 5581 ordinary readers over the previous year, showing the usefulness of the library does not in any way decrease. The most notable present received by the library during the year was a collection of works on Japanese history and geography from the Japanese Government.-The Thirty-first Annual Report of the Mercantile Library Association of San Francisco does not show the library to be in a very flourishing condition. The members have fallen off and the circulation is some 3000 less than previous years, which the President, Mr. George F. Marye, jun., attributes to the remoteness of the residences of the members from the library.-The Harvard University (Library) Bulletin for January contains the conclusion of the classified index to maps in "Petermann's Geographische Mittheilungen," and continuations of the Bibliography of Ptolemy's Geography, "Kohl's Collection of Maps."-The Johns Hopkins University Circular for January contains several scientific communications of value. -Amongst the bibliographical publications of the present day the Boston Book Bulletin, a quarterly record of American books, deserves particular notice. It is always readable, and Messrs. D. Lothrop & Co., of Boston, who issue it, add to its interest by a good selection of illustrations from the books recorded in it.

MESSRS. R. OSGOOD & Co.'s RECENT PUBLICATIONS.-A work that has attracted an immense amount of interest is Mr. W. D. Howells' "A Little Girl among the Old Masters." The pictures are from the pencil of Mr. Howells' little daughter, ten years of age, and the descriptive text is by her father, who says, "They are wholly her own grouping and composition. The reflection in a child's soul of the sweetness and loveliness of early Italian art.". "-" George Eliot: A Critical Study of her Life, Writings, and Philosophy,' by George Willis Cooke, is, as the author says, "not a life of George Eliot, but a critique on her style and the character and influence of her literary labours." The bibliographical matter introduced is only when it is necessary to show how

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her thought and method were influenced by the circumstances surrounding her. Mr. Cooke's book is one of the many spontaneous tributes to the genius of George Eliot, who doubtless stands unrivalled amongst women as a writer of fiction. Not the least valuable part of this volume is the article at the close containing a bibliography of the writings of George Eliot, both books and articles in periodicals."Vagabondia," a love story, by Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett, now first published under this title, was her first novel, which originally appeared in a magazine under the title of "Dorothea," and afterwards in book form as "Dolly." Mrs. Burnett has many admirers, and not a few of them will be pleased to renew their acquaintance with Dolly" in "Vagabondia."-The readers and admirers of Mr. William Winter will be glad to see collected in book form his "English Rambles," which before appeared in the "New York Tribune" and "Harper's Monthly." Although the facts contained in Mr. Winter's book will be nothing new to most Englishmen, it is pleasant to meet them woven together in such a pleasant fashion by an admirer of the old country. -Mr. Lucius L. Hubbard appeals to all lovers of the Adirondacks, of New England and of Nature in her solitudes through his Woods and Lakes of Maine," a trip from Moosehead Lake to New Brunswick in a birch bark canoe. The illustrations, by W. L. Taylor, are from sketches of the real scenes they are intended to depict, and not from photographs artistically vamped up. Mr. Hubbard has added a list of Indian place-names and their significations.-Mr. Francis H. Underwood has issued "John Greenleaf Whittier," a biography of the New England Quaker poet, whose pure and elevating verses, though appreciated and sought after by a discriminating portion of the English reading public, are not so well known as they ought to be, as they appeal to all who have any appreciation of poetry. The volume is dedicated to Mr. John Bright, who, in writing to Mr. Underwood, and accepting the dedication of this interesting volume, says, "I think it is a great compliment you pay me in proposing in any way to associate my name with the record of the life of a man for whom I feel no small degree of affection and of reverence."-"Red-Letter Days Abroad," by Mr. John L. Stoddard, is a charming illustrated book of European travel. Southern Europe is depicted by "Sunny Spain" and Northern Europe by St. Petersburg and Moscow. The second and central article in the book is on the Passion Play at OberAmmergau in 1880, which is so graphically described that we should say to any one who cannot go to Ober-Ammergau, read Mr. Stoddard's book, and you can then easily imagine you have been there and witnessed the remarkable performance.- Miss Howard, the author of One Summer" and "Aunt Serena," has brought out "Guenn; a Wave on the Breton Coast," which stamps her as one of the first writers of fiction. Every one who can appreciate realistic writing should peruse the mournful history of Guenn. The copyright has been secured in this country by Messrs. Warne and Co., who publish it here.-"The Course of Empire," by Mr. Charles Gardner Wheeler, gives the outlines of the chief political changes in the history of the world; it is arranged by centuries, and a map accompanies the text for each century. Such a volume as this is a great desideratum for students of history, and it appears to be well and carefully done, from the cursory examination we were enabled to make. The volume commences in the fifth century before Christ, and comes down to the present era. A noteworthy feature of Mr. Wheeler's work is the variorum illustrations which he gives from all the great authorities; his work might be called, "History in a Nutshell."

THE RIVERSIDE PRESS CALENDARS.-Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., have added to their elegant illuminated calendars, of which the Longfellow and Emerson have previously appeared, by publishing this year the Whittier Calendar, with selections from his poetry for every day in the year. The Right Hon. John Bright at the annual meeting of the Friends' Institute, held in London lately, said:-"If a man wanted relaxation in reading, something that was not absolutely study, he could not do better than indulge himself in reading some of the greatest and best poets. He had been much interested lately in a poet of their own, John Greenleaf Whittier. The Quaker poet was without equal in America. Some of his poems were to him inexpressibly sad, some inexpressibly beautiful."

MESSRS. S. C. GRIGGS & Co.'s LATE PUBLICATIONS.— Professor Alexander Winchell, author of the "Pre-Adamites," publishes a work with Messrs. S. C. Griggs & Co., which, though in the same vein as "Pre-Adamites," and published since, really comes before that work. It is entitled "WorldLife or Comparative Geology," and gives a detailed and connected account of how worlds are manufactured on the